year in the district for driving under the influence. about 30% of traffic fatalities or alcohol-related. authorities in the district hope they can cut down on month numbers. >> in some cases the penalty is even doubled or tripled. if it is your second offense you are going to jail. >> whatever it takes to get drunk drivers off the road is acceptable to me. >> advocates call it a big step forward but said the district still has work to do. >> a first offense in maryland and virginia can get you a year in jail. starting wednesday, the penalty for first offense goes up to $1,000.180 days in jail. for commercial drivers including taxi drivers, there is a mandatory 10 days in jail on top of the original fine.

>> my "was actually killed by cabdriver that was intoxicated -- mighty uncle was killed. >> this woman questions why the council would pass one law allowing bars to stay open later and sell more alcohol and another law cracking down on drunk driving. >> i don't really see how this is bettering the community really. you are putting temptation in their way and you get people to drink a lot, and then you have these problems with the driving, and then you go put them in jail. >> a lot of you may recall we have been reporting that d.c. police have had problems issuing breathalyzer test. this legislation that goes into effect wednesday, we were told

police should have breathalyzer is in action by the middle of august. >> that mandatory five days in jail for driving drunk with a child in the car is actually five days per child. if the child is not wearing a seat belt, it is 10 days. we have more on our website wjla.com. >> police are warning residents of ocean city, maryland, about sexual assaults on women. investigators believe the suspect is prowling near popular nightclub. anyone with information is asked to call police. >> new developments from colorado. the man at the center of the colorado movie theater shooting has been formally charged by prosecutors. james holmes now faces 142 counts including first-degree

murder attempted murder, and possession of explosives. he appeared in court for the second time today since his arrest. >> the fact that someone could take away someone's life just for going to the movies. i felt sorry for him in the sense that he was a brilliant person could have done a lot of good. >> the only time he spoke was to waive his right to a speedy trial. his journal is considered a key piece of evidence in the trial. next month the judge will rule if it is privileged patient- doctor information. >> today mitt romney visited poland as part of his three- country tour. in the meantime, the race continues to move along back here in the state's, especially in those battleground states. rebecca cooper has the story tonight.

>> all mitt romney has been traveling abroad, this campaign has been discussing high- profile circuits to key states. the republican candidate made a series of final appearances overseas. today in poland, getting the endorsement of the polish president -- for polish president, mitt romney was cautious in his public appearances. he said in an interview he supports jerusalem as israel's true capital but sidestepping moving the u.s. embassy from tel aviv. >> i will not make foreign policy for my nation while i am on foreign soil. >> he was criticized by palestinian leaders for saying it is a difference in culture that makes israel were successful than palestinian territories. newt gingrich dismissed any criticism that romney made missteps overseas.

gingrich insists the real but -- real blunder was made by president obama. trying to help when his home state of virginia, he says he is happy to campaign for the man he once called allied air during the hard-hitting gop primaries. >> is easy to support governor romney when the alternative is barack obama. governor romney is a dramatically better choice to be president of the united states. >> it is more likely he believes virginia will vote republican in the campaign. rebecca cooper, abc 7 news. >> former president bill clinton will be taking on a key role at the democratic national convention. he will put president barack

obama's name in nomination. president obama will accept the nomination at the charlotte bank of america stadium. >> the u.s. postal service is facing a major deadline tonight. for the first time in history it could default on a payment to the government. the senate has passed legislation to overhaul post offices, but the house has yet to act. congress has until wednesday before the default goes into effect. >> a replacement plan for some potentially faulty buses. >> a big battle in court between two electronics giants. we will show you how the decision could make corporate history. >> the aclu wants to know if police departments are watching you without a good reason for it. that story's coming up.

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dax the bus bar that prompted montgomery county to take dozens of buses of the street. >> they will buy 28 new buses

could there have been seven fires in the same model champion style buses since 2009. the latest one happen earlier this month in silver spring. but the new buses will not arrive until early next year. >> a complaint about tolls appears to be heading nowhere. a one-way trip can cost up to $4.80. the attorney general says because it is a regulatory issue and not a consumer one, his hands are tied. >> virginia has posted a first- rate -- third straight budget surplus. the surplus comes from an influx in revenue from transfers as well as savings in the government. >> apple and samsung are headed to federal court in a battle over patents. apple filed a lawsuit claiming that samsung products are

illegal knockoffs of the iphone and ipad and wants to billion dollars in damages. samsung says the technology issue has been industry standard for years. >> see who is fighting a battle over license plate pictures. >> it looks like we are in a typical pattern of summer weather.

>> you are watching abc 7 news at 6:00. this abc 7 news at 6:00, on your side. >> we continue with the red flag being raised about red light and speed cameras.

>> the aclu says how the pictures are being taken by the cameras could be an invasion of privacy. >> you may not know it but many places that you drive you are being watched. cameras known as automatic license plate readers snapped pictures of every vehicle in their lines of sight. the aclu wants to know if it constitutes an unnecessary violation of privacy. >> every time a camera reads our license plate it is stamped with the date and time and tps. >> please check the place instantly to see if any of them belong to criminals. the aclu wants to know how long the government is keeping the data and who has access to it. >> the government has no business knowing are keeping a record of where we have traveled without a legitimate law enforcement need. >> maryland state police began using the technology in 2005.

the department says that only keeps the information for 24 hours and then transfers it to an analysis senator that keep it for a year unless it is connected with the law enforcement investigation -- to an analysis center that keeps it for a year. the department adds that the technology has helped fight crime and that even police have limited access to the database. some residents said they didn't have a problem with it. >> it is not like there is anything they can gain from it. >> others commended the aclu for seeking answers. >> the aclu has filed a request for information from 35 different states including maryland and virginia. at this point can only sit and wait all those departments

assemble their responses. >> it was not terribly hot and humid. but it started and look at a time lapse from one of our weather cameras. this is in southern frederick county. no showers fell in that location but other parts of the viewing area saw few downpours. 83 degrees in herndon and 84 in the district. the average is 88. we are about four 0.4 degrees above average for temperatures in the month of july in washington.

having a departure of over four degrees is huge. the record high was set in 1953, well before my time. leesburg, a little shy were, a few showers in king george county and that is about it. a humid evening, 82 in gaithersburg right now 85 at reagan national. cooler weather along the coast like new york city with the breeze off long island sound. 90 in chicago and indianapolis. we will not begin on the 105 degree craziness occurring out in the southern plains. cooler tomorrow with an easterly wind. war for the day on wednesday.

we will have a fair amount of sunshine and warmer temperatures thursday and friday, into the lower 90's by the end of the work week. we will call for a hazy evening with temperatures in the lower 7's. 74 when you get up early and then 84 by high noon. warmer temperatures, near 90 with showers and storms more likely wednesday. typical early august whether. >> the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealers, moving forward. >> checking up on the redskins. >> great to see you back this week. it is like a reality show out here. every day the fans go crazy.

they are chanting rg iii. he just goes straight to practice and focuses on the task at hand. with this season nobler in new orleans now just 41 days a date -- days away, what part of the game does he feel like he has to work on the most? >> working on everything. i am not want to say i am back at that. i just do not look at myself that way -- i am not one to say i am bad at that. nowhere to go with the ball and what to do in certain situations i am working on all those things just getting completions and staying on the field. that is the bottom line.

>> mike shanahan loves competition. he says he does not know who will start at tailback beshear. when you have eroded quarterback, you need a solid running game. the running back for battling right now they are little bit on edge. >> how you get into that competition? >> that is the exciting part. when we are on that field we know at any given point you cannot get comfortable. anyone is capable of being bad guy. we all love each other and push each other. >> cory had his knee scope and

he will need four-six weeks to recover from that. he should be back by the end of the preseason. let's go to baseball 11-10 yesterday, what a classic game that was. look out. a two-run shot tied the game in the ninth. then let's go to extra innings. this becomes a two-run double. the nationals when the game 11- 10. that game truly was a classic. >> i do not know about you all but i have of a few more gray hairs. >> it felt good. it was just a hard fought all game for both teams. we played good until the last out.

>> back here at redskins park, a week from thursday is the first preseason game against the buffalo bills. >> we will have a final look at

♪ ♪ i've never felt this way before, but it's a scary time to be a woman. mitt romney is just so out of touch. [ female announcer ] mitt romney opposes requiring insurance coverage r contraception. anand romney supports overturning roe versus wade. romney backed a bill that outlaws all abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. there's so much we need to do. we need to attack our problems -- not a woman's choice. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i

approve this message. >> one more check of live super doppler radar. a few more showers and storms on the eastern side of the blue ridge. 90 degrees on wednesday no showers and storms thursday and friday. it will be a hot and humid weekend. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

[ male announcer ] where did all the obama stimulus money go? friends, donors campaign pporters special inrest groups where did the obama stimulus money go? solyndra: 500 million taxpayer dollars. bankrupt. so where did the obama stimulus money go? windmills from china. electric cars from finland 79% of the 2.1 billion in stimulus grants awarded

through it went to overseas companies. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.e.